It's a state of mind

[Kieran McConville]

Dunno who said this, probably Angie. Radiohead is an attitude more than a topic of discussion: discuss. Well, if Radiohead is an attitude, what exactly is that attitude? What is the Radiohead state of mind?

Honest contributions welcome... think of it as a little Ground Zero thread if you like.

 

[Angela Harlem]

Did I say that? I have a lot of trouble remembering things lately...like going to bed...whats the time?...lordy, ok...

What was your question again?

Oh. Im not at all qualified to answer what the radiohead attitude is. I know very little of their stuff, only what is released here in Oz. Which is coincidental cos I was going to ask you or mand to tell me what they have released here. Its all back to the memory thing.

But Im still stuck on this whole fighting thing. I dont see why the existence of another fan group causes so much trouble. I want someone to give me a good reason why this forum shouldn't be here! Hell, I can say this and I am the last person who can call themselves a radiohead fan. In all honesty, this shold be a Bush forum. We all know they are unsurpassed musically, but 'I no complain'.

Attitudes indeed!

 

[Sicy]

Hey no more fighting threads!

I am not qualified to answer this question.

 

[Kieran McConville]

This thread wasn't really about fighting at all. I'm tired of all that. It was about Radiohead, funnily enough. Not even Radiohead fans per se, just RADIOHEAD the band.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Angie, I believe (could be wrong) that pretty much everything they've done has been released here in oz. So, assuming we're just talking about the albums, that would be:

Pablo Honey
The Bends
OK Computer
Kid A
Amnesiac
and that live record, can't remember the name.

 

[Sicy]

Ok then good.. no fighting.

Thom must have some issues, is what I think. Personally, I like bands with attitudes.

 

[Charlie's Angel]

Do Radiohead have a state of mind? They have a state of something..

In all honesty, I adore u2 over any band and think their music is better than Radiohead's. However, I think Radiohead have taken a step further than U2 in that they take risks and don't go back on their music.
U2 unforutnately and I hate to admit it, have done this. At the time they released PoP they were happy with the album but since the backlash, they claim it was rushed etc. This disappointed me about U2. They then went on to make a very mainstream album and won back a lot of fans which is great but it doesn't sit well with me.
OK, there's Radiohead in here soon..
RH don't do that. Thom Yorke almost goes the other way in telling anyone who doesnt like their music to piss off and refuses to discuss the process.
They make music for themselves and no one else. If we like it, then good but their attitude seems to be one of purely driven to make exciting, different and music that only they could make.
They push the envelope that many other bands aren't game enough to, and don't care about the consequences. Its an arrogance almost, but one that does them well I think.
Thom in interviews has a totally private and Fuck off attitude about the music and why they make it.He doesn't feel they should have to explain themselves and rightly so.
Make up your own minds about the music, and big fucking deal what the critics say.
This is something I wish U2 would get back again. They had it once but they seem to have lost it at the moment.

Their state of mind I don't think creates hostility. A bit of confusion maybe..

 

[Calluna]

Thanks for posting this, Kieran. I was looking for an oppurtunity to bring this up. But it wasn't angie who said it, it was the fabulous foray:

Originally posted by foray:
Maybe Radiohead's more of an attitude than a topic of discussion.

that's all for now.



------------------
We plants are happy plants.

 

[Kieran McConville]

You're right - of course it was foray, I remember now. Sorry, foray.

 

[elizabeth]

radiohead music = t.s.eliot poetry

 

[foray]

The radiohead attitude was fuck big corporations, fuck politicians, fuck 9-5 jobs, fuck record companies, fuck interviewers, fuck commercialism and even fuck the fans. They are fitter and happier now, ever since Kid A, I noticed.

Also, the vibe I get from a few Radiohead songs (and bear drawings) is that of repressed violence. Sorta like a quiet office employee who could shoot down the whole office one fine day.

foray

 

[Angela Harlem]

hehe thanks calluna babe. I thought I said something more to do with the attitudes of the fans...but we arent fighting here!

So...Does radiohead suffer from Oasis Syndrome? This anti-Tool type Aenema theme is so long entrenched in music. Everyone is angry about something. Actually on Tool, I really like the song aenema. And it even has swearing in it! Just to make that point a lil clearer ya know?

Keiran, I was kinda hoping you could post the actual songs they have released. I can only remember Karma Police and Creep. I know there was a 3rd at least, but stuffed if I can remember it. I could go look this up, but Im too lazy and besides this is radiohead, and Im curious now about this band. So could you do a Mr Ruxton for me and 'learn me something'?? hehehe.

 

[The Wanderer]

the most well-known/popular tracks are probably:

high and dry
stop whispering...
fake plastic trees
bones
paranoid android
exit (music for a film)
airbag
lucky
no surprises
optimistic
national anthem
idioteque
how to disappear completely
pyramid song
pakt like sardines in a crushed tin box
knives out
i might be wrong
dollars & cents

"high and dry" was probably their most radio-friendly track ever next to "creep"

 

[Kieran McConville]

Angie, do you mean the actual singles they have released? I could look up a fan site like followmearound.com for starters, though whether Australia differs at all, I dunno.

Foray: excellent post. If that's not the Radiohead state of mind, I don't know what is. No wonder so many U2 fans loathe them.

There is definitely some kind of sociopathic vibe happening there, though unlike the Limp Bizkits and other 'rage-rock' outfits of this world, I'd suggest that Radiohead actually have something worth being angry about. Disaffected teen angst it ain't.

 

[Charlie's Angel]

Creep and Just were well known here too

[This message has been edited by Charlie's Angel (edited 01-30-2002).]

 

[The Wanderer]

i just read what you wrote there foray, that is indeed a great post.

you perceived this transition radiohead has undergone, and it's most definitely there, and i think it had to be that way, it was time to hit on something new, and i don't see many of their peers having ever quite tapped into something as volitile and provocative as this

repressed violence indeed...

but what is it directed at?

 

[The Wanderer]

but I wanted to mention and forgot to, that the songs for Kid A and Amnesiac were written during the same recording sessions

 

[foray]

Originally posted by Kieran McConville:
There is definitely some kind of sociopathic vibe happening there, though unlike the Limp Bizkits and other 'rage-rock' outfits of this world, I'd suggest that Radiohead actually have something worth being angry about. Disaffected teen angst it ain't.

Precisely, precisely. This is why I hate Linkin Park, because when asked in an interview why they are so angry, one of them replied: 'oh, you know, working so hard... paying the bills... it's tough...' or something lame like that. Welcome to the real world, dood, sheesh.

Wanderer, with regards to what or whom Radiohead's angst is aimed at, I have to ask, as I've always wondered... Did any of them ever have an office job?

Seriously. I've been wondering that for years but never bothered to research.

foray

 

[Angela Harlem]

Its funny fors. I'd love to know how many of these ironically apathetic role models have actually done this 'grind' they so vehemently hate. I say ironically becuase its always 'we dont give a fuck - but fuck this and fuck that anyway, yeah!'

Welcome to the real world indeed. Welcome to our world. What I hate more is these teens who are either fresh out of school, or unemployed, embracing this angst.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Well I think what makes Radiohead interesting is the very vagueness of their targets. In the same way that a casual listener could hear U2 for years and never get the 'God' thing, Radiohead plough their own path which is probably only apparent when you've followed them for a while/read a bit about them/let it all sink in.

I don't what jobs if any, they've ever held. I don't think it's particularly relevant. I don't think it's about 'oh fuck having to work for a living' ala Linkin Park, but rather about the dehumanising nature of the whole shebang at this point in history. I mean, any band at the Radiohead or U2 level does work, and works hard: that's a given imo.

Suppressed rage may be a more accurate description. Cause there isn't too much overt anger in their music, it's under the surface. Plus they come from that melancholy English tradition. Who knows, if they were American, they might have turned into Rage Against the Machine.